Korn's Brian "Head" Welch and daughter to appear in Lafayette for screening of documentary

Korn’s Brian “Head” Welch and his daughter Jennea Welch.(Photo: Photo provided by the Long Center for Performing Arts)

LAFAYETTE – Jennea Welch wasn't born or raised in Lafayette. She spent much of her younger years living out west, or on the road touring with her dad, guitarist and singer Brian "Head" Welch from the metal band Korn. But after years of constant travel, moving from city to city, Jennea found herself in Lafayette attending a school called Awakening Youth.

Parts of the school and Lafayette were used as locations during the documentary "Loud Krazy Love," which was released in 2018 and details Brian Welch's life in Korn, his drug addiction, conversion to Christianity and relationship with Jennea.

On Monday, the Long Center will host a screening for the documentary at 7 p.m., with an audience question-and-answer session with Brian and Jennea after the showing. Tickets are $6.50, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the place where Jennea has spent her time in Lafayette, Awakening Youth.

The documentary won "Best Feature Doc Audience Award" at the Dallas International Film Festival and was a Grand Jury nominee at the Nashville Film Festival.

Awakening Youth is a school, but also a "therapeutic living experience" for children who have experienced the loss of a caregiver or come from single parent families. Co-founder Tiffany Claywell said the school is not affiliated with any religious organization, but does collaborate with Faith Church in Lafayette. According to their website, students at Awakening Youth use Alpha Omega Academy, an accredited online Christian academy for classes, which are administered by the dean of students.

Prior to moving to Lafayette, Jennea, 21, had lived in California, Arizona and Nashville, Tenn., as well traveling across the county, accompanying Brian while he was on tour. Several scenes during the documentary show Jennea close to the stage as a small child during shows, sitting on someone's lap and wearing headphones to block out the loud music and screaming fans.

Jennea said her mother, Brian's ex-wife Rebekah Welch, had struggled with mental illness and was out of the picture by the time she was three years old.

"It's always been me and my dad," she said.

Jennea came to Lafayette in 2013, after Brian met Claywell during one of his shows as a Christian artist. He left Korn in 2005 to pursue his born-again Christianity and Christian music.

"I started struggling with depression and anxiety in my tweens," Jennea said. "It was hard with my mom not being there and my dad being gone for certain periods of my life. When I was struggling more than he could handle, he sent me to Awakening."

Jennea said moving to Lafayette and starting at Awakening Youth helped gain consistency and have a normal life and a normal upbringing. But it was a difficult transition for her, one that took years for her to adjust.

"I had a normal schedule, I had chores, I had sports," Jennea said. "I never really had that before, because my dad didn't really know how to implement that in our life. That was the number one thing that helped me learn how hard work should bring you joy and self love."

Jennea graduated from Awakening Youth in 2016 and still lives in Lafayette as she takes online classes at Full Sail University, a private, for-profit college based in Florida. She's decided to major in creative writing when Claywell encouraged her after reading the forward note she wrote for Brian's book.

She is also an intern at Awakening Youth, working in communications.

"She doesn't give herself enough credit," Claywell said. "She's done a phenomenal job, from being an only child go integrating with a group of girls that are a like peer dynamic to her."

Jennea described filming her part of the documentary as an experience like "talking to friends." Sharing hers and Brian's story was fairly easy, she said, but watching it back, seeing how others could interpret it was much more difficult.

She hoped people watching the documentary in Lafayette on Monday will not only better understand her and Brian's relationship, but will also understand that loss of a parent doesn't necessarily mean a person is mentally ill.

"When you're growing up without that bonding experience, that can lead to depression and anxiety, but that doesn't mean you are mentally ill," Jennea said.

Emily DeLetter is a news reporter for Journal & Courier. Contact her at (765)420-5205 or via email at edeletter@jconline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @EmilyDeLetter.

IF YOU GO: A screening of "Loud Krazy Love" will be held at the Long Center for Performing Arts, 111 N 6th St. at 7 p.m. The box office and doors open at 6 p.m. and tickets are $6.50, including service fees.

A portion of the profits will benefit Awakening Youth. After the screening, there will be an audience question-and-answer with Brian "Head" Welch and his daughter Jennea Welch.